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Amateur Solar Radio

AstronomyJohn C. MannoneJohn C. Mannone

2010 SARA Annual Conference2010 SARA Annual Conference

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AbstractAbstract

After a general introduction on solar emission dynamics and the

Earth-Sun connection, various tools available to the amateur

solar radio astronomer are discussed. As an example,

electromagnetic waves and particle fluxes from a specific solar

event (coronal mass ejection) will be followed from itsoccurrence to its detection by various radio astronomy

instruments inexpensively available to the amateur (Radio

JOVE, SID, Natural Radio, etc.). The emphasis will be on

correlation of observations (across the EM spectrum) with other

amateur data. In addition, it is shown how to acquire

professional data. This includes equipment in terrestrial

observatories and space satellites and probes (Nancay Array,

SOHO, GOES, etc.)

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1.0 Introduction to Solar1.0 Introduction to Solar

Emissio

n Dyna

mics

Emissio

n Dyna

mics

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The Su

nis

a

Hot

Plas

ma

The Su

nis

a

Hot

Plas

ma

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Emits

i

n Ma

ny Freq

uen

cies

Emits

i

n Ma

ny Freq

uen

cies

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Optical

Chart

for

Stars

Optical

Chart

for

Stars

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HertzsprungHertzsprung--

RussellRussellDiagramsDiagrams

Star Luminosity vs Surface

Temperature/Color

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Stars:

Blackbod

y Radiators

Stars:

Blackbod

y Radiators

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Radio

Chart

for

Stars

Radio

Chart

for

Stars

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Radio Source HR DiagramRadio Source HR Diagram

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Radio SunRadio Sun

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Compare RadioandOpticalCompare RadioandOptical

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Activeand Quite SunActiveand Quite Sun

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ContinuousThermal EmissionContinuousThermal Emission

This arises from random motion in plasma from what is

called free free transitions.Coulomb forces (charge

attraction/repulsion) deflect electrons. The quiet sun

emits these.

Other sources of thermal radio emission:

(1) Thermal noise in electronic components

(2) Bremsstrahlung in HII stellar regions

(3) Cosmic Background Radiation (microwave)

(4) Lunar surface

(5) Orion nebula

(6) Bok globules

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Continuous Nonthermal SourcesContinuous Nonthermal SourcesThe effect of magnetic forces (Lorentz) on charged particles is

magnetic bremsstrahlung: cyclotron and synchronous radiation

Light is generally polarized and has an opposite frequency

dependence than thermal radiation does.

Expect to see this kind of mechanism when there is heat,violent explosions, or shock fronts.

Some examples of these sources:

(1) Sunspots(2) Jovian Radiation Belts(3) Radio Galaxies (giant elliptical galaxies)(4) Supernova Remnants(5) Quasars(6) Black Holes.

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Discrete EmissionDiscrete EmissionMost notably, this occurs in the ground state of

neutral atomic hydrogen called the hyperfine

transition (spin flip) at 21 cm. Expect to see it

in the cooler parts of the sun where hydrogen is

not ionized.

Other sources of discrete radio emissions are

(1) Transitions between High Rydberg states of hydrogen

(2) Molecular transitions from excitation of rotational

bands (CO and CH3OH in molecular clouds)

(3) Masers astronomical microwave lasers such as thesilicon-oxygen (SiO) (not silica) and water masers

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Discrete Spectra

from HyperfineTransition

Ground State Neutral Hydrogen

proton

electron

Spin-paired lower energy state

21 cm radio emission (1.4 GHz)

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2.0 The Earth2.0 The Earth--Sun ConnectionSun Connection

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SolarWindand Connection ofSolarWindand Connection of

Magne

ticFields

Magne

ticFields

Solar flare impact on Earth:

(1) Directly from the burst of high energy x-rays and K rays and

(2) Indirectly from the time-delayed arrival of cosmic radiation

which could produce geomagnetic substorms, auroras, and sferics.

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SunSun--EarthEarth

Co

nnectio

nCo

nnectio

n&&

SOHOSOHO

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Direct Effect: SuddenDirect Effect: Sudden

Io

nosphe

ricDisturba

nce (SID)I

onosphe

ricDisturba

nce (SID)

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SID MonitorSID Monitor

Pre-Amp

24.8KHz

Filter

Signal

Strength

DATAQComputer

RS-232

Coax

=

All frequencies

Band-pass, Only 24.8KHz

(Amplitude Modulation)

DC voltage

Level

10 bit,Analog to Digital

ConversionSample every

5 Seconds

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0

0.5 1

1.5 2

2.5 3

07:00:03

07:35:31

08:10:59

08:46:27

09:21:56

09:57:24

10:32:52

11:08:20

11:43:48

12:19:16

12:54:44

13:30:12

14:05:40

14:41:08

15:16:36

15:52:04

16:27:32

17:03:00

17:38:28

18:13:56

18:49:24

19:24:5320:00:21

20:35:49

21:11:17

21:46:45

22:22:13

22:57:41

23:33:09

00:08:37

00:44:05

01:19:33

01:55:01

02 30 29

Normal

DayWithNo

Fla

Normal

DayWithNo

Fla

Local

Noon

S

unrise

Sun

set

Nigh

ttime

Ni

Daytime

Tim

ein

UT

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Cor

relatingSID

andG

OES

Cor

relatingSID

andG

OES

2

2.5 3

3.5 4

4.5 5

07:00:03

07:31:26

08:02:48

08:34:11

09:05:34

09:36:56

10:08:19

10:39:42

11:11:05

11:42:27

12:13:50

12:45:13

13:16:35

13:47:58

14:19:21

14:50:44

15:22:06

15:53:29

16:24:52

16:56:14

17:27:37

17:59:00

18:30:23

19:01:45

19:33:08

20:04:31

20:35:53

21:07:16

21:38:39

22:10:01

22:41:24

23:12:47

23:44:10

00:15:32

00:46:55

01:18:18

01:49:40

LocalNighttime

Daytime

Sunrise

C4

.5

C5.9

C3.8

M1.3

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Stanford SolarCenterStanford SolarCenter

Tracki

ng Flares

Tracki

ng Flares

A new resource

http://solar-center.stanford.edu/SID/activities/

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Indirect Effect: ParticleIndirect Effect: Particle

Impact

(Magne

ticStor

ms)Imp

act(M

agne

ticStor

ms)

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Natural RadioNatural Radio

Unnatural Radio

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3.0 Re

sourcesAvailabl

eto

3.0 Re

sourcesAvailabl

eto

theAmateurSolarRadiotheAmateurSolarRadio

AstronomerAstronomer

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(1) A compilation of useful SOHO and GOES satellite data:

http://www.n3kl.org/sun/status.html

(2) A comprehensive listing of NASA space-borne laboratories(ACE, Cluster, FAST, IMAGE, Polar, RHESSI, SAMPEX,

SOHO, TIMED, TRACE, Ulysses, Voyager, and Wind):

http://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/SPD/SPDTopMatrixNASA.pl

(3) Links to homepages and mission matrices for each of the above.

(4) Follow the links from the overview matrix to, say,SOHO/GONG/. It will show all the available SOHO data:

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/

(5) Solar/Heliospheric Forecast has many good products, including

the Solar Weather (wind ) model and Virtual Star Lab (IMSAL):

http://www.lmsal.com/forecast/

(6) From here, the Solar Data link is SolarPhysics on the Web,

which has comprehensive live and easy-to-use archive database

(SOHO, GOES, WIND and the MEES Solar Observatory in

Hawaii): http://www.lmsal.com/solarsites.html

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(7) Recent Solar Activity: pinpoint the sunspot group that was

active. The Latest Solar Events:

http://www.lmsal.com/solarsoft/latest_events/(8) Archived data (item 7) is sometimes harder to come by. Solarsoft

is developing access to the database. However, the GOES data is

easily retrievable back to 1991 from their Yohkoh solar x-ray

telescope database: http://www.lmsal.com/SXT/plot_goes.html

(9) IPS Radio and Space Services provides several excellentresources under their Space Weather and Solar links:

http://www.ips.gov.au/Solar

(10) Space Weather: http://www.spaceweather.com/

(11) Terrestrial observatories Nancay Array: http://www.obs-

nancay.fr/index.php/en/instruments/decametric-array

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(12) Radio JOVE data archives: http://jovearchive.gsfc.nasa.gov/

(13) Space Weather Monitors (Stanford Solar SID):

http://sid.stanford.edu/database-browser/(14) Natural Radio/The Inspire Project:

http://theinspireproject.org/uploads/PDF/Theory_of_Operations.

pdf

(15) Solar-Ionosphere Connection: Physics with the 20 MHz

Antenna: Time and Frequency Domain Analysis:http://home.earthlink.net/~jcmannone/id7.html

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New ResourcesNew Resources

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First Light forthe SolarFirst Light forthe Solar

Dynamics

Observator

yDynamics

Observator

ySDO mission is tounderstand the Sun as a

magnetic variable star and

to measure its impact on

life on Earth.

Launched on February 11

from Cape Canaveral, in

geosynchronous orbit, first

light Mar 30, 2010

Extreme UV: Red (60,000

K), Blue (106 K), Green

(1.4 106 K), Yellow (2.2

106 K)

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GOES-15 SolarX-Ray Imager's

Miraculous First Light

GOES-15 launched on March 4, 2010 from Cape

Canaveral, Fla. On June 3, the GOES-15 Solar X-

Ray Imager (SXI) instrument came on-line.

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4.0 Example 1:4.0 Example 1:Investigating a SolarEventInvestigating a SolarEvent

Coro

nal

Mass

Ejectio

n (CME)Coro

nal

Mass

Ejectio

n (CME)

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SOHO UV Light 284 mmSOHO UV Light 284 mm

X17 Flareand CMEX17 Flareand CME

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GOESGOES

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GOESGOES

&&WINDWIND

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Nancay Observatory:Nancay Observatory:

DecametricArray 20DecametricArray 20--70 MHz70 MHz

Right Hand

Polarization

Left Hand

Polarization

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RadioRadio

JoveJove

Pforzheim,Pforzheim,

GermanyGermany

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Radio JoveRadio Jove

Grobkrotzenburg,Grobkrotzenburg,

GermanyGermany

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ACE InterplanetaryACE Interplanetary

Magnetic FieldMagnetic Field

Flare initiation during day

301, particle disturbance

arrives 30 hours later at the

ACE sensors

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AnotherSolarFlareAnotherSolarFlare

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Unrelated EventsUnrelated Events

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Fringe Dwellers:20 MHzFringe Dwellers:20 MHz

InterferometryInterferometry

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Wind Waves:Wind Waves:

Kilometricand DecametricKilometricand Decametric

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Galactic CenterGalactic Center

passing throughdipolebeampassing throughdipolebeam

Radio Jove traces

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Calibrated RadioArchivedCalibrated RadioArchived

Data:Type III SolarBurstData:Type III SolarBurst

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Type I - continuum emission, plus a succession of bursts

shorter than 1 second, associated with sunspots of strong

magnetic field. They last from a few hours till up to a few

days and represent the most common radio emission activityof the Sun. Their production mechanism has not yet been

understood.

Type II - shock waves caused by chromospheric eruptions,

traveling from the solar corona into the interplanetary

medium about 1000 km/s. They move slowly from high to

low radio frequencies in a few minutes; caused by plasma

oscillations induced by the passage of the shock wave.

Radio Classification of SolarRadio Classification of Solar

EmissionEmission

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Type III - ejection relativistic electrons beams (10,000

km/s) into the solar corona and into interplanetary space.They change quickly from high to low radio frequencies in

few seconds; also ascribed to plasma waves caused by the

passage of the electron beams.

Type IV - synchrotron emission by electrons at the top of amagnetic loop in the corona, or in a plasma bubble moving

at a speed of about 100 km/s. The only highly polarized

radio bursts. They last from a few minutes to a few hours.

Type V - attributed to high-energy electrons enclosed in

coronal magnetic arcs.

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5.0 Example2:5.0 Example2:SolarRotation from SunspotSolarRotation from Sunspot

DataData

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Sunspot Number (SN)Sunspot Number (SN)

Sunspot Number is calculated from

averaging the number of sunspots,

and weighing in the groups of

sunspots, on the visible solar surface,counted by many solar observatories.

This number has been determined

from data dating back to 1620 (with

some regularity since 1700 and doneon a strict daily basis since 1849),

http://sidc.oma.be/html/sunspot.html

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Plotin SN in ExcelPlotin SN in Excel

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Perform FFTin SN in Excel:Perform FFTin SN in Excel:

Solarcycle, etalSolarcycle, etal

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FFT ReFFT Re--scaled:scaled:

SolarRotationSolarRotation

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Solar Rotation Period and other Short Cycles

associated with meteorological and substorm correlations

Are reproduced here: Solar Cycles found

in Meteorological Indices

27, 13-14, 9, and 6-7 days

In Earths Magnetic Field Disturbances

6 and 9 day

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Butterfly Diagram_Field ReversalButterfly Diagram_Field Reversal

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Butterfly diagram show

sunspot distribution

symmetric about solar

equators 35 degrees

Expect rotation period band

from sunspot numbers time

average equatorial periodclose to 25.6 days.

Interpolated value fors 30

degrees: 27.1 days

Interpolated value fors 35

degrees: 27.5 days

The observed value of 26.9 days

is well within the experimental

and model errors (FFT algorithm

and axis of tilt). (Next slide slows

expanded scale.)

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Solar Rotation Frequency from

FFT of Daily SN

T = 1/f = 26.9 days

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Poetry of John C. MannonePoetry of John C. Mannone

John C. Mannone is a widely published,

award-winning poet of international acclaim.

He has been nominated for theP

ushcartPrize in Poetry and the Rhysling Poetry

Award.

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Song ofthe SunSong ofthe Sun

Do you hear her, feel the whisper,

a hush of wind warming the cold

corner where you are?

Shell shed her veil, let you see her

garnet hair, the green glint of beryl eyes.

Shell shimmer outside your bedroom

window, slip inside, dance electric

to a cosmic chorus, just for you.

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Her throat-song seduces you with night

bird melodiespolyphony of whistles, chirps.

Her breath, a flute of wind, rushes over you,overwhelms you like waves crashing the shore

in a storm; you are sand swirling back to sea.

Her sirens song is calling you back to her.Shes calling you home.

Spread your powdered wings, the Moon

isnt looking, and fly to her as a moth

of stardust; flutter to her hot hot light.

June 2010 (Introduction to Aurora Wolf anthology 2)

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ConclusionsConclusionsResources have been identified for:

(1) doing a coordinated study of solar events (CME)(2) investigating solar phenomena (SN fluctuation/ solar rotation

(3) data mining professional sources

(4) finding amateur data

This information should be suited for the classroom environment,

especially when coupled with multimedia resources, as well as for

casual study.

It is useful for amateur astronomers, as well as for serious highschool (and college) students engaged in radio astronomy projects

that might qualify for a SARA grant.

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The EndThe End

Be ready, the sun

is awakening